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Latest Training Articles
Phoenix Blog Competition: Mookie’s Tale
By Kim Geisert
The gray and white male pit bull was covered in blood. It was flowing down his face, running from the punctures in his forelegs and neck, and streaming from where the tip of his ear had been severed. He limped toward me, but was otherwise unexpectedly calm, considering the ...
Dog Trainers: Still Here to Help – Virtually!
Progressively, over the last couple of months, I have seen my client contact change dramatically. Classes, in-person 1-to-1 training sessions, day training, board and train etc...all of this physical, hands-on work has had to end due to COVID-19. Of course, the social aspect for us and our ...
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Are We Meeting Our Pets’ Needs?
I think it's part of our American culture to love the idea of having a pet. Whether it's a dog or cat or a pocket pet, many of us enjoy our lives more when we share it with a companion animal.
There is another side to the equation. And that ...
Are We Dogs’ Best Friends?
My blog is called The Thinking Dog, so it doesn't take a canine Einstein to figure out that I take dogs’ thinking ability seriously. But what does it mean to talk about thinking dogs? How do dogs think? What do they think about?
While human ...
Korean Meat Farm Dogs Arrive without Much Baggage
In January the Humane Society International brokered a deal with a farmer in South Korea who had been raising dogs for food. In exchange for funds to convert his operation to blueberry cultivation, he surrendered his twenty three dogs into ...
Are ‘Free-Shaped’ Dogs Better Problem Solvers?
A look at the criticisms of lure-reward training by Carmen LeBlanc MS ACAAB CPDT. First published in BARKS from the Guild, April 2014, pp. 12-18
Most professional dog trainers have heard about criticisms of lure-reward training in recent ...
When Choosing a Dog Trainer, Buyer Beware!
Written by Leah Roberts
Originally posted in 8/27 2010
Before 1981 when Dr. Ian Dunbar developed the first Sirius Puppy Class, training wasn't recommended for puppies under 6 months old. The only training methods available at the time ...
What Dog Training Really Taught Me
Image credit: Yvette Van Veen of Awesome Dogs. Please see full credit and sharing info at the bottom of the post.
One of Many Examples
This reinforcement/punishment combo is very common and easy to fall into, because of ignorance about how ...
Don’t Stop That Behavior, Quit It!
In my “previous life” when I was a fitness and wellness trainer, I would coach my clients to making healthy choices. I learned back then about motivation, about what it takes to set a goal, but more importantly, I learned which goals are the ...
It’s All About Relationships.
I became a dog trainer to facilitate the relationship between dogs and humans. My goal was to create a relationship based on trust and understanding. By opening the lines of communication, I felt like I could achieve my goal of keeping more ...